Soundbites

03 March 2010

Jonny Breeze, Director, Yellow Cat Recruitment
“At Yellow Cat Recruitment I mitigate any stress by ensuring that there is effective communication throughout the office to prevent any issues. Making every member of the team feel valued and allowing them to have their say is really important for any business. I hold regular one-to-one meetings out of the office where I give them a chance to discuss any issues they may have as well as providing my feedback. Holding these meetings to minimise stress allows me to do what I’m here to do - growing the business!”

Marie Stewart, Group recruitment & induction training manager, Kwik Fit Insurance“While some stress is a normal part of life, excessive stress impacts on your efficiency, so it’s important to find ways to control it. At Kwik Fit Insurance we have a huge range of initiatives in place with an onsite gym, massage and therapeutic treatments available. We have a chill-out zone where our people can go along and watch TV, have a game of snooker or simply relax in the juice bar. We encourage our people to talk to us and even have drop-in sessions with our occupational health nurse. We also train our team leaders to be aware of stress indicators. It all helps.”

Terry Hillier Managing director, RACS Group
“This is a really challenging scenario when trying to apply the same tactics to everyone. Communication and regular team meetings often tend to de-stress many daily pressures. But the key for me is to know my team individually; a sympathetic ear when viewing their concerns generally works wonders. This allows for constructive ’one-to-ones’ and most importantly, open and honest feedback - potentially seeing off future stressful situations. I tend to take time out to reflect and reassess a situation. A clean break - either overnight or a long weekend away - typically does the trick for me.”

James Thompson European recruitment manager, Discovery Networks International
We are all busy but it is unclear goals or lack of clarity that cause stress. I will fight hard to ensure that all of my goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time) and clear. I will then cascade similarly SMART goals to my team. Work must be fun. It is my responsibility as a leader to make sure that it is. Periods of fun help to break the vortex that people get trapped in. Recognise and reward work well done. Listen and observe and learn how to spot the signs of stress taking hold. Then deal with it.